Precious Evidence
by montgomeryshepherds
Summary: The nurses are calling her 'Rosebud.' It's been a while since Derek fell in love at first sight.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, sadly.

A/N: Well, I'm always in an Addek mood but never really wrote a story about them. So here it is! Finally!  
By the way, this is set sometime around season 3, after all the prom drama.

* * *

Derek couldn't help but overhear the nurses' hushed conversation on the other side of the counter. He knows that he shouldn't eavesdrop, but he remembered that the hospital runs on gossip anyways so he thought that listening to those two nurses wouldn't hurt. He pretended to look at the chart in front of him as if it was the most interesting thing in the world as he sneaked up some glances to the two people on the other side.

"_You know who's the cutest baby in the nursery?"_

_"Baby Johnson, duh! His hair is so blond and his eyes are bluish-green."_

"_Ha-ha! You are so wrong! It's the Shepherds' baby that's so adorable! Her cheeks are so rosy and she smiled at me earlier! She is just so precious!"_

_"Well, Rosebud…"_

_"Rosebud?"_

"_Yeah, you said her cheeks are rosy. So that's what I'm calling her from now on."_

"_She has a name, you know."_

"_She does, but I don't know. And I think that you don't either."_

"_Right."_

"_Well, I believe that Rosebud will be a heartbreaker like her mother. In a good sense though. Dr. Montgomery-Shep… well, Montgomery now, is quite a looker."_

"_Don't forget about Dr. Shepherd."_

"_Sure. But I think that the only thing she got from him is his hair."_

_"True."_

As the two nurses left, a part of him knew that he had to see his own daughter for himself.

Derek slowly made his way to the nursery to only find a nurse feeding one of the babies in one of the cribs. He approached her and asked which one was Baby Montgomery-Shepherd, and he saw the nurse stiffen and hesitantly showed him the way. He thanked the nurse as she went out the door to give him a little privacy. He approached the crib that held his little girl, who was only a few hours old. When he saw the card, his heart dropped when he only saw Baby Montgomery written on it instead of Montgomery-Shepherd, but he decided to ignore it. Derek moved closer and touched the top of her head, which had strands of dark hair that promised to curl as she grows older. He saw her open her eyes for a minute, probably sensing his touch, revealing stunning, bright blue orbs. It's been a while since he's fallen in love at first sight. It's not infatuation, but absolute love.

"Hello baby girl," he started, feeling tears pricking his eyes. "I know that I'm not supposed to be here. That I don't have the right to be here anymore with you, but I just… I really don't know why I'm here. I just had to see you for myself, to see what I missed and what I'm going to miss. I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry for treating your mom that way."

He smiled when he heard her stirring. And that's when the thoughts started flooding his mind. In the early years of their marriage, he had imagined them having the perfect family. With him, Addison, a little boy and a little girl with their best features. But now, he knows that he had messed up and this illusion of having the perfect family had long been taken away from him. Because he and Addison are officially divorced and he couldn't think of a way to get back in her life after all the hardships he had caused her.

Derek fell out of his reverie when the door to the nursery opened. That's when he saw Addison. He hasn't seen her since… well, since she was still pregnant with their baby. He tried to smile at her but it was only reciprocated with a stern gaze from her.

"What are you doing here, Derek?" she said, approaching their newborn.

"I… uh… I just wanted to…"

"Wanted to what?"

"I just heard them talking about her. Calling her 'Rosebud' and all and…"

Addison looked at him quizzically. "Hmm."

"Uh, Addie?"

"What?" she turned to him.

"What's her name? I just want to know her name," his voice sounded pleading. He just wanted to know his only daughter's name. His daughter whom he resented before she even came to the world.

"Arabella Dionne Montgomery."

"That's… beautiful. It fits her," he again, tried to smile even though his heart ached a little too much. "Thank you."

She only replied with a silent nod but never took her eyes off her daughter, who was slowly waking up. He saw her pick up the little girl and walk over to the rocking chair. He wanted to be with them- hell, he would literally do anything just for that, but he knows that he couldn't. He knows better than to push Addison after everything that happened between them.

He turned to the door and once he was about to leave, he heard Addison say, "Derek!"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you… for bringing her to my life," she smiled softly at him.

He smiled back at her and pushing his luck, moved forward and kissed both of them softly on their foreheads. Again, he went to the door and looked back at them with a smile plastered on his face. At this moment, as she was holding the precious evidence of the love they once shared in her arms, he felt hope. He felt hope about rebuilding the family that he once dreamed about.

* * *

A/N: If you're wondering why Derek hasn't seen his daughter, it's because Addison didn't want him in there while she was giving birth. Plus, Dr. Shepherd had another surgery. Go figure. xD Aaaaand, I don't know if this is just going to be a one-shot or...


	2. Chapter 2

(Usual) disclaimer: Too broke to own anything.

A/N:Hai, guys! Thanks so much for the reviews! And I'm guessing that I'm making this a chaptered fic with mostly flashbacks. Sorry if this chapter sounds really rushed. Because it really was. _Ha-ha!_

P.S. In this story, Addison and Mark only had a one-night stand. Addison didn't stay with Mark after Derek walked out.

* * *

_*Flashback; a few months ago*_

"Our marriage is over."

"Yeah."

"It's all my fault."

Just as Addison was about to say something, the door to the hotel bathroom suddenly opened announcing a towel-clad Mark Sloan. Derek's head suddenly turned around to see his ex-best friend coming out of his soon-to-be-ex-wife's bathroom. He felt guilt leave him as he looked back at Addison, whose eyes were closed, probably trying to think of a way to explain but words wouldn't come to her.

Derek's head was switching back and forth from his ex-best friend and Addison when Mark suddenly said, with the same "I didn't do anything wrong" tone as ever, "Oh. This is awkward."

Derek ignored him and took the glass from Addison's hand and drank it. He expected white wine but it tasted different. "What is this?"

"Ginger ale," she said simply.

"Ha. I feel a lot better now," Derek said, standing up. He headed to the door and looked back at his ex-best friend and wife. He was finally free. She's moving on faster than he'd thought.

As Addison watched Derek leave, she sighed loudly. As if on cue, Mark came and sat next to her and took her in his muscular yet oddly comforting arms. She let a few tears fall and finally spoke. "It's over. He even said it. It's over."

"But you have to tell him, Red. I know that now he thinks that I slept with you right now and he probably hates the both of us…"

"I don't think so, Mark. I think… I think he's relieved that he found us like this. Remember how he always needs to be the good guy? Yeah. It's better if he thinks that it's my fault."

"Addison…"

"I'll tell him. But that's just it."

"'Atta girl."

"Thanks for coming so soon," she smiled at him.

"Anytime."

_-Two weeks later-_

In the attendings' locker room, Addison and Mark walked in together and found no one else in the room. They went to the either sides of the room to their own lockers. Little did they know that Derek was in the restroom getting ready to change to his scrubs.

"Mark, do you have any surgery during lunch?"

"No, why?"

"Do you mind getting me some vanilla milkshake, please? And oh my goodness, a cheeseburger sounds really good right now. And some fries. Mhmm."

Mark looked at her with amusement in his eyes. This wasn't the typical Addison asking him to get her that heavy a meal. When she met his eyes and saw that he was about to start laughing, she threw her balled-up socks at him with a playful pout on her face and that caused him to laugh out loud. Derek thought he was alone in the room but when he heard laughter outside, he stopped himself from opening the door because he knows that laugh. He's been hearing that laugh for over thirty years. It was his best friend's. _Ex-best friend_, he corrected himself. Wait, he heard another person laughing. A woman. Addison?

Derek was about to open the door and casually walk out when he heard Mark say, "So I'm guessing Baby Montgomery-Shepherd would already be spoiled at ten weeks in the womb."

_Baby Montgomery-Shepherd? Baby?_

"Oh, Uncle Mark. Please?" Addison said with a cute little voice, mimicking a child's.

"Fine. But Red, it's been two weeks since… you know. Tell him soon, okay?"

"Mark…"

"Whatever his reaction might be, you still have to tell him. He has a right to know about your baby."

"I know," she looked down. Mark went to her side and took her in his arms as she started to tear up. Derek took this silence as his cue to finally come out of the restroom thinking that the duo finally left. He heard them clearly. _Baby?_

He was shocked when he saw Mark hugging Addison on one of the benches. His heart clenched as he felt jealously run in his veins. _Jealousy? No. It's not jealousy, _he reminds himself. He tried to shake it off and cleared his throat, getting the twosome's attention. Both jumped at the sound that came from behind them.

"Derek!" Mark exclaimed.

"Mark."

"I have to go. Derek," he nodded at him. "Addison, I'll see you later with your lunch, okay?"

"Okay," she said quietly, wiping her tears off her face.

They watched Mark's retreating back finally left the room. "Addison…"

"What?"

"I heard you two. Something about… something about a baby."

"Oh."

"Just tell me, okay? I need to hear it from you," he demanded.

"I'm pregnant. It's yours," she said tearfully.

"I… I can't, Addie. I just can't."

"What do you mean?" her voice rose higher than usual.

"I mean… I'm barely having a relationship with Meredith and I can't handle a child with you. Are you going to keep it?"

"I don't need you."

"Are you going to keep it?" He's angry. He doesn't know how to deal with this news. His relationship with Meredith was still rocky because he was in the middle of a divorce and he doesn't want another 'news' ruin it some more.

"I am," her voice was now void of any emotion. Here she is, still sitting on one of the benches in the locker room, listening to her soon-to-be-ex-husband asking her if she's going to keep their baby. She saw it coming but she was in denial. But now it was clear to her that he doesn't want anything to do with them.

"Addison… I can't."

"Don't Addison me! I'm keeping our- _my _baby! I don't need you and all your hatred towards everything! So don't even worry about me butting in with your relationship with your perfect twelve year old! I don't need you, Doctor McDreamy!" She tried her hardest to not cry, but her tears had another idea. She stood up and went out the door and left a speechless Derek behind her.

"What the hell did I do?" he said to no one in particular as his right hand raked through his hair.

"Red! I got Karev…" Mark rushed in the locker room thinking that Addison was still in there. But when he saw Derek sitting down with his head in his hands, he suddenly knew what happened. Addison finally told him and from the look in Derek's current position, the 'talk' definitely didn't turn out good. "Sorry," he finally said to Derek. "Do you know where…"

"She went outside," he looked up at Mark for a second but soon returned to his previous spot.

Even if it was just for a moment he saw Derek's face, Mark was certain that he saw tears flowing slowly from his eyes.

* * *

A/N: I think that for the next chapter, it's going to have a flashback with Richard and Miranda. What'cha think?


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